CA1331454C - Carton and method of manufacture - Google Patents

Abstract

Abstract Of The Disclosure A paperboard carton for drinking glasses directly engages stems or other irregularly shaped portions to rigidly and securely hold the glasses within the carton.
The carton is erected from a blank form in a method requiring no direct manual manipulation to position the stem holding portion of the carton. The carton is formed as an open ended rectangular sleeve with a stem holding panel extending horizontally across the interior of the carton.

Description

x-7653 CARTON AND M~THOD 0~ nANuF~cTuR~

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The pre~ent invention pert~in~ to the art of folded paperbo~rd carton~, ~nd part~culsrly to a paperbo~rd carton for holding drinking glasse~ of various shspe~
B~c~grouDd of the Inv~Dt~o~
In my copending patent application~, a folded psperboard c~rton ig di~closed which utilize~ 2 unique tab ~nd ~lot srrangement to securely retsin drinking glssses or other ob~ect~ within the carton. In thi6 application, an improvement in paperboDrd csrtons ~ di~closed whereby car~on i8 ad~pted to accommodate glassw~re having ~rregularly sh~ped portion6 such as ~tems, flutes, etc.
Folded paperboard cartons are commonly u3ed a8 psck~gin~ for generally cylindricel ob~ects ~uch as cans or drinking glss~es. Known cartons usually compri~e a continuoue ~heet of paperboard wrapped around a group of gla~e~ to form a sleeve having top and bottom p~nel~
opposite side wall p~nel6, ~nd two opposite open ends for ~nsertion snd removal of the gla~ses. V~rious pieces of the ~leeve p~nel~ fold inwardly against or between the gla~e~
to hold them in pluce. Also, a separ~or p~nel extending between sd~scent glsQses iB BometimeB p~ovided as an inw~rdly folded piece of a ~leeve psnel, or may be formed a8 a di6tinct panel of the c~rton. ~xamples of such carton fitructures are seen ln U.S. Patent~ 2,817t473 ~o Foster ~nd 4,640,417 to Dursnd.

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1 3 ~ 1 4 5 ~ x-7653 A carton i6 normally formed from an elongated bl~nk sheet of paperboard. Such blank sheet~ have fold~ng lines to define distinct carton panel~ ln succeEsion ~long the length of the ~heet, and additional cut and scored line~ to define 5the inwardly folding piece6 of the panels. A small folding extension at one or both end~ of l:he blank sheet can be pro-vided as 8 glue flap for con~truction of the ~heet into a closed ~leeve with opposite ends thereof ~oined a~ the glue fl~p.
10A blank sheet i6 construeted into a sleeve-li~e csrton by first applying sdhe6ive ~o the glue flap and then by piv-otin~ one end of the blank sheet about a laterally extending folding line to bring that end over into engagement with the other end, whereby the blank i~ di6posed in a flat over-15lapped po6ition with the ends adhered together. The flat overlapped configurat~on iB expanded into an open ended rec-tangular ~leeve by movlng the panels awsy from one another with bending action at the lateral folding lines. The gla~ses may then be inserted into the open end6 of the 20sleeve, and the inwardly folding pieces sppropriately en- -ga~ed with the glasses.
Problems with known paperboard cartons arise with both the constructed carton~ and the blank sheees. The cartons f8il to provide a strong and rigid container for glasse~ of ~5various shapes, and the blank sheets inefficiently require manual assembly operutions after the sheets are expanded into the open sleeve configur~tion. --~tore 6pecificslly, known paperboard carton~ for drinking glasses generally make no provision for stems, 30converging sides, or other common but irregular shapes. A
glsss having a narrow base can easily shift inside the carton to break agains~ an adj~cent ~lass or to fall out of the carton. The inwardly folding pieces of known ~leeve panel6 have been arranged to extend between gla6~es or to 35engage the stem of a goblet, such as in U.S. P~tents :, - 2 - ~
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1 3 3 1 ~ 5 L/~ X-7653 2,817,473 and 4,640,417 noted above, but remov~l of these pieceB out of the plane of the associsted sleeve panel greatly wesken~ the ~ructure of the carton. A weakened carton c~nno~ ~afely hold frsgile drinking gl~sBes and require~ heavier and gre~ter amoune~ of paperboard mater~sl to accommodate a ~7esk structural deslgn. In addition to weakening the panel, 8 stem holdinK piece taken from the top, bottom, or ~ide panel6 of the ~leeve unde~irably expoBeB the contsined glaB~eB to impact wlth ob~ect6 outside the carton, and when taken from an intern~l ~epsrstor panel, a ~tem holding piece i~ difficult to reach for manipulation into place.
Kno~7n blank ~heet~ for con~tructing carton~ with stem holding or ~imilsr pieces inefficiently requ~re manual ma-nipulation of the~e piece6 into position. Automatlc equip-ment i6 u~ed ~o ~pply adhesive to the glue f 1ap3, and ~o fold the blank ~heet into the overlapped flat configuratlon in which the carton~ are stored or shipped for subsequent msnual expsnPion and loading with drinking glssses. The manual operstions of foldlng the Btem holding pieces out of the plane of the s~socisted panel, aligning the end or other part of the folded piece into posision, snd attschment thereof with adhesive are all time con~uming and exacting task~ which detract frool the efficiency und quality of the proce6R.
Known carton0 for drinking gla6ses sre thus seen to fail to provide a ~trong and rigid container for glssses of differing shapes, or an efficient method of manufacturing ~uch a container.
~ y of the Invention The present invention overcomes the above referred to problems snd others, and provide~ a paperboard carton for holding drinking gls~ses of variou~ shapes which i8 of ~upe-rior strength snd rigidity, and which i~ msnufsctured by an improved method.

1 3~ 4 X-7653 In accordance with a principal fe~ture of the invention there i0 provided a paperboard carton for holding drinking gla~e~ having a tapered ba~e, a stem, or other 0imllar ~hape fea~ure, the carton comprl6ing an open ended sleeve 5having hor~zontal panel~, vertic,sl panel6, and a separator panel extendin~ between the horiz:ontal panel6 to define ad-~acent interior compsrtments of the c~rton. An internal gl8~g holding panel h~ving rece6~;e6 to engage a ~la~ ~tem, ba~e, ~r other narrow portion il5 dispo~ed psrallel to the 10bottom panel, spaced vertically above the bottom pAnel, and pa6ses ~hrough the Bepara~or panel to extend continuously between the 6ide panels. The glass holding panel hss a glue f18p ~t each end for adhesion to the side psnel6, and iB
formed as a single piece taken out of the plane of the sepa-15rator panel by being rotated about a line along which it intersects and i~ in~egral with the ~eparator psnel. The glas~ holding panel thu0 securely engages the glass stems, snd further rigidifies the carton while economlzing the u0e of paperboard material.
20In accord~nce with a more specific feature of ~he in-vention, a tab and slot arrangement similar to ~hat shown in my copending applications i~ used to 6ecurely retain the glasses within the open ends of the ~leeve shaped carton.
Importantly, the glass holding panel i0 configured BO thst 25when it i8 rotated out of the separator panel, the remaining coplanar portions of the separator panel on opposite sides of the gla88 holding panel retsin sufficient compre~sive or columnflr rigidity to give 6upport to the csrton, yet are resiliently flexible to cooperate with the tabs in locking 30the carton, In accordance with another principal feature of the invention, there i~ provided a foldable blank for construc-tion of a carton for drinking gla6ses or simil~r ob~ec~s, the blank being formed as a sheet having folding lines de-35fining di~tinct panel0 which are pivotal with reBpect to onc l` ~
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ano~her about the folding lineB. At le&Bt one of the panel~
i6 provided as a compartment 6eparator panel and has an in-ternsl folding line ex~ending acro6s a portion thereof. An ob~?ect holding panel i6 provided in psrt by a firs~ Bection defined by a cut line on one 6ide of the internal folding line, and in psrt by a second 6ection defined by a cut line on the other side of the interna] folding line so that the ob~ect holding panel i? rotat~ble out of the plane of the ~eparator p~nel about the internal folding line.
In accordance with a more 6peclfic fe~ture of the in-vention, the blank iB formed as an elongated &heet having laterally extending foldin~? lines defining successive panel~
alon?~? the length of the sheet. The panel6 include a top panel at a first end, snd successively toward~ the second end a side panel, a bottom panel, ano~her side panel, a bridgin8 panel, a separator psnel, snd a glue flsp. The glue flap is lnterrupted in its width scros~ the blank sheet by two cut lines defining a gap therebetween. The separator panel has an internal folding line extendlng laterally across a portion thereof. A glass holding panel is defined in part by a portion of the separator panel cut out on one side of the intern~l folding line, ~nd in part by a portion of the separator panel cut cut on the other side of the in-ternal folding line and extending longitudinally through the gap in the glue flap to the ?econd end of the blank ~heet.
The glafis holding panel has a foldable glue fl?sp at each end, and h~s reces6es in its longitudinal edges t?o engsge the stem or other shape feature of the drlnking glasse~? to be held in the carton. The distinct panels o the blank sheet are pivotal with re?spect to one another about the lat-erally extending foldlng lines, and the glass holding panel is rotatsble a~? a whole out of the plsne of the separator psnel about the internal folding line.
In ~ccordance with yet another principal feature of the invention, there iS provided a method of constructing a ` I 3~ 7653 folded c~rton ou~ of 8 blank psperboarld sheet. First, sheet i~ provided, the ~heet having folding lines definin~
distinct p~nel6 pivotal with re6pect to one another ~bout the folding lines. The panels include at least two side panels and a sep~r~tor panel which defines and separ~tes two sdjacent interior comp~rtment~ of the carton between ~he eide panels. There 1B alBo provicled an object holding panel defined in two section~ on oppo~3ite 6ides of an internal folding line extending p~rtially llcro~s the 6eparator panel.
The section~ are delineated by lines cut through the blank Bheet BO that the ob~ect holding panel is rotat~ble ~B a whole out of the plane of the separ~tor psnel a~out the in-ternal folding line. The ob~ect holding panel further h~s opposlte end piece~ which are pivotal out of the plane of the sections. The blank sheet i6 folded about selected ones of the folding line6 60 as to bring the sheet into a gener-slly fl~t configurstion of overlying pancls with the side psnel6 being brought into overlying contact with opposite planar side~ of the ènd pieces, but prior tQ the folding step, sdhesive i~ applied to fielec~ed portions of one plnnar 6ide of the bl~nk sheet so as to enable adhesion of the op-po~ite planar sides of the end pieces with the overlying 6ide psnel~.
A principal ob~ect of the present invention is to pro-vide a folded paperboard carton for drinking g188Be~ which rigidly ~nd 6ecurely holds glasses having ~n irregular or non-cylindrical a~ well ~s a cylindrical ~hape, and which iB
efficiently constructed from a foldable bl~nk sheet.
Another object of the invention i6 to provide a paperboard c~rton for drinking glflsses which includes me~ns to directly engage the stems of the gla6ses and to rigidify the container panels, while al~o minimizing the weight and amount of materisl required to form the container.
Another object of the invention i~ to provide a carton hsving 6uperior retention propertie~ out of thinner - 6 ~

`...','~. :~, : :`~ :: ~ :, 1 3 ~ 1 ~ 5 ~ X-7653 paperbo~rd than that which i8 ~ypically used, resulting in a less expensive carton.
Yet another ob~ect of the invention i8 to provlde a carton using msteri~l punched out of an inner wall panel flnd folded into a plane to rlgidify the carton while securing the contained ob~ect~, snd being configured in a manner to make the inner wall panel more resiliently flex~ble for in-teraction with locking tab~.
A further ob~eet of the invention i8 to provide ~ blank ~heet for construction of a paperboard carton for drinking gla~ees whlch provides glass 6tlem holding components upon folding of the blank sheet into a flat configuration of overlapped plflnar sections, and without the need for sub~e-quent manual manipulation of the stem holding component6.
Yet another ob~ect of the invention i6 to provide a method of construc~ing n folded paperboard csrton for drink-in~ glasse~ having a stem or other irregular shape which erects A glaBB 6tem holding means without the need for inef-ficient direct handlin~ of the gla~s stem holdlng mean~.
These and other obJects of ehe invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of a pre-fcrred embodiment thereof ~nd from the accompanying druw-ings.
Brief Description Of The Drawing~
FIGURE 1 iB a pictorial view of ~ c~rton formed in ac-cordance with the invention and containing four drinkin~
glasse~;
FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIGURE l;
FIGURE 3 is a ~ide view taken along line 3-3 of FIGURE
l;
FI~7URE 4 iB a top view of the c~rton shown in FIGURE l;
FIGURE 5 is a plan view of a blank form adspted for conRtr~ction of a carton in sccordance with the invention;

~~` 1 331 ~rj~ X-7653 FIGURE 6 i~ ~ plan view of the blank form shown in FIG-URE 5 in a folded po6ition p8rti~11y constructed into a csr-ton in accordance with the invention;
FIGURE 7 i~ a plan view of the blank form shown in FIG-UP~E 6 in ~ folded positlon further advanced tow~rd construc-tion of a carton in accordance ~i~h the inventi~n;
FIGURE 8 iB a ~ide view of the blank form shown in FIG-URE 7 in ~ folded position psrtially expanded outwardly into a completed carton in accordance with the lnvention;
FIGURE 9 is ~ pictorial view of the carton shown ln FIGURE 1 in an open position preparatory for in~ertion of a pair of drinking glas~es;
FIGURE lQ iB a pictorial view of a locklng means por-tion of ~ carton in accordsnce with the invention;
FIGURE 11 i6 a pictorial view of the locking means shown ln FIGURE 10 in 8 psrtially locked po6ition; and FIGURE 12 is ~ pictorial view of the locking means ~hown in FIGURES 10 and 11 in a fully locked po6ition.
De~cription Of A Preferred Embodiment Referring now to the drawing~ wherein the showings sre for the purpose of illu~trating a preferred embodiment of the invention only and not for the purpose of limiting same, in FIGURE 1 there iB shown a paperboard carton C holding wine glssses G. This embodiment i6 particulsrly adapted to accommod~te the structur~l features of wine glasses G
including narrow ssem portion~ S, and the invention will be described with reference thereto. Ho~ever, it i6 intended that the in~ention may compri6e carton embodiments adapted to securely retain ob~ects h~ving other compa~able structur~
81 Pe~tures.
The Carton Carton C compri6es top panel 10, bottom panel 12, side panel6 14 and 16, sepsrstor panel 18 ~nd ob~ect holding pan-el 20. Top snd bottom panel6 10, 12 and side panel6 14, 16 form a closed sleeve with oppo6ed open 0nds for inBertiOn - 8 ~

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1 33 1 ~5~ X-7653 and remov~l of gl~s~es G. Separstor p~nel 18 extends verti-c~lly between top and bottom panel6 10 and 12 to define sd-~acent interior c~mp~rtmen~s for holdlng gla~es C between side psnels 14 and 16.
Side panels 14 snd 16 are narrower between the open ends of carton C th~n the combined dismeter~ of glasses G
held in ~he asRoc~ated interlor comp~rtments. Bottom panel 12 has edges 22 at each open end of carton C, including in-~ermedi~te edge portions 24 extending perpendicularly to ~ide panels 14, 16 and to separat~Dr panel 18. Edge~ 22 con-verge from intermediate portions 24 toward~ ~ide psnels 14 and 16 to provide the octDgonal shape of bottom psnel 12 shown in the flgures. For the purpose of symmetry, top pan-el 10 iB formed simil~rly with edges 26 hsving intermediate portions 28. Thi~ panel geometry reduces the ~mount of csr-ton material which otherwise would cover the side6 snd edges of glasses G, ~nd thereby both reduce~ msterial cost and incre~ses product expo6ure for retail display snd sale.
Ob~ect holding p~nel 20 is spaced ~bove bottom panel 12 snd extends through the pl~ne of sepsrstor p~nel 18 be~ween side psnels 14 snd 16. Object holding panel 20 i~ narrower between the open csrton ends thsn i~ botto~ panel 12, snd has edge~ 30 including recesses 32 adspted to register with ste~s S of glasses G. Edges 30 csn, of course, take any other configurstion adapted to a p~rticular structural fes~
ture of the ob~ect to be held in csrton C, such the fluted portion of a champagne gla~s, the widest portion of a b~rrel shsped glass or CUp, or simply the outline of a cylinder.
Object holding panel 20 iB formed integrslly with ~ep~rstor ! 3o panel 18 in a manner to be described in grester detsil below with reference to the blsnk sheet from which csrton C is formed.
~e~ns are provided to securely retain glssses G within the open ends of csrton C. As best 6een in FIGURES 9-12, locking tsbs 34 sre provided st each intermediate edge . ' _ g _ 1 3 3 1 ~ 5 ~r portion 24 of bottom psnel 12. Each t~b 34 iB defined by a ba~e line 36 coincident with the ~uncture of the tsb with bottom panel 12, by tab edge~ 38 converging from base line 36, and by a narrow t~b end 40 which may be linear ~o give the tabs ~ tr~pezoidal ~hape, but which i6 preferred to be curved awsy from buse line 3S as shown. T~bs 34 ~re pivot~l about base llnes 36.
Sepsr~tor panel 18 includes ~ locking 810t 42 assoclat~
ed with each t~b 34. Slots 42 are incllned inw~rdly and : .
vertically wlth reepect to bottom psnel 12, and have open ends ~d~acent bA~e lines 36. A region 44 of separAtor panel 18 i~ defined ad~acent each ~lot 42 and extende along each outer edge 48 of separ~tor psnel 18. Regions 44 are ~ :
resiliently flexible out of the plane of separ~tor panel 18.
While a single tab could hold the glasse~ C within an open -end of the ~leeve, in order to enhance the security of car~
ton C for holding fra~lle objects, locking tabs 34 sre al80 ~ :
provided at intermediate portions 28 of edges 26 at top psn-el 10, with additional locking BlotS 42 similarly a6sociated therewith AB ~hown in the figures.
In u~e, sn empty csrton C i~ arranged to receive glass- m i~
es G inwardly at the open ends thereof a~ ~hown in FIGURE 9.
A glass G is in~erted into a csrton compsrtment on either side of sepsrator panel 18 with the stem S received in re-ces6 32 of ob~ect holding panel edge 30. The associated reg~on 44 of sepsrstor panel 18 i6 then flexed out of its ~ .m -plane to permit pivotal movement of tab 34 about base line `~
36 into a locking position received within slot 42, whereup-on region 44 i~i permitted to re6iliently return ~o its orig-inal position 86 a coplsnar element of sep~rstor psnel 18.
Tab 34 is then locked into 610t 42 again~t outer ~ilot edge 46 and will prevent movement of glas~ G out of the open car-ton end unle~s the tsb iB intentionslly pivoted outwardly psst panel region 44. ~ . -,. .

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1 3~1 ~54 X-7653 Importantly, the configuration of the ob~ect holding panel 20 iB such that ~he void left thereby in the ~epsrator pDnel 18 coDtributes to the resilient flexibility oP the ~eparator panel 1~ at each region 44 as60ci~ted with a tab and slot arrangeGIent, whereby each region 44 can flex inde-pendently without cAU~ing a crease to form in the paperboard material. At the same time, the void formed in the sepsra-tor panel 18 is not B0 grest a~ to detr~ct from the columnsr rigidity thereof. Furthermore, the ob~ect holding panel 20 acte a~ a stiffener to increase rigidity snd thereby more than compensates for any 1086 of rigidity in the sep~r~tor panel 18 which might otherwlse occur. Increased rIgidity enables a lighter welght materi~l to be u~ed. For example, prior cartons commonly use heavier psperboard material of 0.032-0.034 caliper, wherea6 the present lnvention enable~ a reduction to li~hter material of about 0.024 caliper.
The improved combin~tion of flexibili~y with ri~idity in the 6epar~tor panel 18 i~ sn advsntageous feature of the invention bec~use, a6 seen in my copending 8ppl ication~, the tabs are planar pieces, and the locked engagement of the~e two intersecting planar members securely retains the glssses G within the carton against any outward force short of one ca~6ing destructive bending failure of the planar configura-tion~. The security of the tab and slot arrangement aluo enables an advantageous reduction in weight of the psperbo~rd materisl even without the rlgidifying properties of the ob~ect holding panel 20.
Object holding panel 20 further contribute6 to the glass holding ~ecurity of carton C. A gla~s G i~ prevented ! 3o froc~ movement out of the opposite open end of carton C when a companion gla6s is removed from the same interior compart-ment. Furthermore, glasses C cannot r~ttle sbout within the carton and strlke agaInst one another when stems S are ~e-cured within recesses 32.

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1 3 31 Dr54 X-7653 The Blank Sheet Referring now to FIGURE 5, there is shown ~ psperboard blank B adapted to be constructed into the form of carton C.
Blank B i6 an elongated ~heet of paperbo~rd having l~terally extending foldlng lines defining succes~ive panel6 along the len~th of the sheet. Proceeding in longitudinal ~ucces~ion from right to left in FIGURE 5, the panelR include top panel 10 extending from folding line 50, side panel 16 between folding line~ 50 ~nd 52, bottom p~nel 12 between folding lines 52 and 54, ide panel 14 bl~tween folding lines 54 snd 56, bridging panel 58 between folding lines 56 and 60, seps~
r~tor panel 18 between folding lines 60 and 62, and glue flap 64 .extending from folding line 62. Glue flap 64 i6 interrup~ed in it~ width across blank B by cut lines 66 and 68. Each panel i~ pivotsl with re~pect to an adj~cent panel about the lateral folding line extending therebet~een.
Object holding panel 20 de~cribed above i8 formed with~
ln blsnk B as 8 component of separ~tor panel 18. Separ~tor panel 18 include~ internal folding line 70 extending par~
tially thereacros~ with object holding panel 20 defined by sections 72 and 74 on opposite sides of internal fold~ng line 70. Section 72 is defined by cut llne 76 extending around section 72 between the ends of internal folding llne 70. Section 74 i8 defined in psrt between cut lineE 78 snd 80 reaching from internal folding line 70 to lateral folding line 62, and continues longitudinally beyond lateral folding line 62 between cut lines 66 and 68 to extend to end flap piece 82. End flap p~ece 82 i6 pivotal out of the plane of section 74 sbout folding line 84. A ~imilar pivotal end flap piece 86 with folding line 88 is provided at the oppo~
site end of section 72. Object holding panel 20, in the form of Aections 72 and 74, is rotata~le as ~ planar unit about internsl folding line 70 to turn out of the plane of 6 eparator pane:l 18.
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1 33 1 ~ 5~ X-7653 Construction Of The Carton A metl~od of foldlng blank B into the form of c~rton C
i~ illu~trated in ~equential ~teps ln FIGURES 5-8. Fir~t, adheBive i6 applied at selected alrea6 of one planar side of blank B ae illu~rated in FI~URE .5. Adhe~ive i8 applied to top psnel 10 at an srea designed generally st 90, ~nd ~o ~ide panel 16 ~t un area designated generally at 92. Adhe-sive i~ ~lfio applied to another ~rea which msy be ei~her area 94 at 6 ide panel 14 or ~rea 96 at end flap piece 86 on ob~ect holding panel 20. Adhesive is urther applied to either glue flap 64 ~t ~ress 98 ~nd 99; or to bottom psnel 12 at ares~ 100 and 102. Panels of blank B ~hown to the left of lsteral folding line 56 are then pivoted a~ a planar group about line 56 into the overlying configuration shown in FIGURE 6, whereby end flap piece 86 beco~e~ adhered to side panel 14 at urea 94, and glue flap 64 becomes adhered to bottom panel 12 ~t ~rea lO0 and 102.
~snels of blank B to the right of lateral folding line 52 are then pivoted a6 a planar group ~bout line 52 into the overlyin~ configurstion ~hown in FIGURE 7. This folded con-figuratlon of blank B places areas 90 of top panel 12, which i8 on one planar slde of blank B, in overlyiDg contact wiSh the other plansr side of blank B at bridging panel 58.
Likewise, opposite planar sides of bl~nk B are placed in overlying cont~ct where ares ~2 of Ride panel 16 i8 brought around onto end flap piece 82. Blank B as folded and ad-hered in FIGURE 7 is sufficiently cons~ructed into ~arton C
to the extent necessary for storage or shipm2nt.
The final step in con~truction of carton C is illu~
! 3o trsted in FIGURE 8 whereby the fl~t folded configuration of FIGURE 7 iB expanded by means of pivotsl motlon about later-al folding lines 50, 52, 54 and 56 to produce the upri~ht rectangular ~tructure shown in FIGURE 9. In accordance with the invention, adhesion of end flap pieces 82 and 86 respec-tively to s~de panels 16 and 14 csuses ob~ect holding panel - 13 ~

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`: 1 3 3 1 ~ 5 4 X-7653 2~ to pivot as a planar unit out of the plane of ~ep~r~tor panel 18 as ~ide panels 14 and 16 are expanded into the up-right rect~ngul~r po~ition.
In ~ddition to providlng ret~ntion security for gla~es G within c~rton C, ob~ect holdin~ pnnel 20 increase~ the ~trength and rigidity of the carton structure while minimiz-ing the amount ~nd weight of psperboard material required.
The geometry of top panel~ 10, :L2 snd side panels 14, 16 described above, or other reductione of panal coverage around ob~ect~ held within a c~rton, could reduce the strength and rigidity of the 6tructure. nbject holding pan- -~
el 20 rigidifies separator psnel 18 and side panel~ 14, 16 by tying these member6 together acros~ ~he interior of the structure. Provi~ion of ob~ect holding psnel 20 a~ an inte-gral component of separator panel 18 within blank B svoid~
~he need for an additional panel ~o perform this rigidifying function, and thu~ minimizeB the amount of msterial u~ed while simultaneously incressin~ strength.
The invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment. Obviously, modifioations snd alterna~
tions will occur to other~ upon the reading and understand-ing of this specific~tion. It i6 intended to include 811 6uch modifications insofar aB they come within the scope of the appended claim~ or equivslents thereof.

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Claims (14)

1. A folded carton for drinking glasses or similar objects comprising:
horizontal and vertical panels forming a sleeve having opposed open ends for insertion and removal of said objects;
a separator panel in said sleeve extending between said horizontal panels to define adjacent interior compartments;
and an object holding panel parallel to said horizontal panels and extending continuously between said vertical pan-els through the plane of said separator panel, said object holding panel being formed integrally with said separator panel along a line at which said object holding panel inter-sects the plane of said separator panel.

2. A carton as defined in claim 1 wherein said object holding panel is narrower between said open ends than are said horizontal panels, and has edges adapted to conform with the cross sectional outline of a portion of said ob-jects.

3. A carton as defined in claim 1 wherein said object holding panel includes a folded flap piece at each end adapted to be adhered to a vertical panel.

4. A carton as defined in claim 1 wherein said hori-zontal panels have end edges at said open each of said sleeve, at least one of said horizontal panels having a planar locking tab extending from a portion of each said end edge, said tabs having a folding line along said edge por-tion and being pivotal about said folding line between an open position extending outwardly of said open sleeve end and a locked position extending inwardly of said open sleeve end; said divider panel having a slot adjacent each said tab for receiving said tabs therewithin in said locked position.

5. A carton as defined in claim 4 wherein said slots extend vertically and inwardly with respect to said folding lines each to define a locking component of said separator panel between said slot and said open end of said carton said locking components being adapted to block pivotal move-ment of said tabs into or out of said slots, and being re-siliently flexible out of the plane of said separator panel to permit said pivotal movement of said tabs.

6. In a foldable blank sheet for construction of a carton for drinking glasses or similar objects comprising a sheet having folding lines defining distinct panels pivotal with respect to one another about said folding lines, the improvement comprising: at least one of said panels having an internal folding line extending across a portion thereof, and an object holding panel having a first section defined by a cut line on one side of said internal folding line and a second section defined by a cut line on the other side of said internal folding line, said object holding panel being rotatable out of the plane of said one panel about said in-ternal folding line.

7. A foldable blank sheet for construction of a carton for drinking glasses or similar objects comprising:
an elongated sheet having laterally extending folding lines defining successive panels along the length of said sheet, said panels comprising, in longitudinal succession a top panel, a first side panel, a bottom panel, a second side panel, a bridging panel, a separator panel, and a glue flap;
said glue flap being interrupted in its width across said blank sheet by a pair of cut lines defining a gap therebetween;
said separator panel including an internal folding line extending laterally across a portion thereof, and an object holding panel defined in part by a first section of said separator panel cut out on one side of said internal folding line and in part by a second section of said separator panel cut out on the other side of said internal folding line and extending longitudinally through said gap in said glue flap.

8. A foldable blank sheet as defined in claim 7 where-in said object holding panel is rotatable as a whole out of the plane of said separator panel about said internal fold-ing line.

9. A foldable blank sheet as defined in claim 7 where-in said object holding panel includes a piece at each longi-tudinal end thereof adapted to be folded out of the plane of said object holding panel.

10. A method of manufacturing a folded carton for drinking glasses or similar objects comprising the steps of:
a. providing a blank sheet adapted to be foldably erected to form said carton, said sheet having folding lines defining distinct panels pivotal with respect to one another about said folding lines, said panels including at least two side panels and a separator panel, said separator panel be-ing adapted to define and separate adjacent interior com-partments of said carton between said side panels;
b. providing an object holding panel defined in two sections on opposite sides of an internal folding line ex-tending partially across said separator panel, said sec-tions being delineated by lines cut through said blank sheet whereby said object holding panel is rotatable as a whole out of the plane of said separator panel about said internal folding line, said object holding panel having opposite end flap pieces pivotal out of the plane of said sections;
c. folding said blank sheet about selected ones of said folding lines so as to bring said blank sheet into 8 generally flat configuration of overlying panels with said side panels in overlying contact with opposite planar sides of said end flap pieces; and, d. prior to said folding step, applying adhesive to selected portions of one planar side of said blank sheet so as to enable adhesion of said opposite planar sides of said end flap pieces with said overlying side panels.

11. The method defined in claim 10 wherein said adhe-sive is applied to one of said side panels and to one of said end flap pieces.

12. The method defined in claim 10 wherein said adhe-sive is applied to both of said side panels.

13. A method as defined in claim 10 and further in-cluding the step of expanding said blank sheet out of said generally flat configuration by means of pivotal movement about said folding lines whereby said object holding panel is caused to rotate about said internal folding line into a position extending between said side panels through the plane of said separator panel.

14. A carton for holding drinking glasses or similar objects comprised of panels of foldable paperboard material and having means for retaining said objects within said carton, said retaining means including a planar tab received within a slot formed in a panel extending generally perpendicularly to said tab, said paperboard materials being of about 0.024 to 0.032 caliper stock.